


Dr Cherry Boy or: How Kouha Ren Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Alibaba Saluja

by Raphiday



Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-16
Updated: 2014-06-16
Packaged: 2018-02-04 21:41:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1794130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raphiday/pseuds/Raphiday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Posted for the Magi Kink Meme: Kouha has a thing for the dregs of society, and in the Kou Empire, someone who's still a virgin at the age of 20 definitely applies.  So Kouha, thinking that someone like Alibaba needs a little help in that department, strikes up an odd friendship with Alibaba and does whatever he can to help get him laid.  Little does Kouha know, however, about the prince he's trying to get deflowered and complacent, about the craven political games his brothers and Sinbad are playing around them, and, most of all, about how madly and completely he'll find himself falling in love with Alibaba Saluja (and just how fervently Alibaba will fall back).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this story is both on Tumblr and the Kink Meme, and I figured I'd expand it to here as well. I hope you like this story!
> 
> Also, Shinobu Ohtaka owns Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, not me. If I owned the series, strange things would happen. Mostly involving politics, but sometimes involving Alibaba getting shipped with everyone.

It had been a long day for Kouha Ren.  Traveling from Magnostadt was always an inconvenience, especially with stupid bandits on the road thinking they could rob him without relinquishing any of their limbs.  It didn’t help things that Hakuei had chosen to stay in that magic-infested kingdom to make sure the shadow hanging over it was completely eradicated, so there was no way Kouen was going to have anything but that boring stoic look on his face.

After he got his household established in one of the state buildings, Kouha washed himself and prepared the report he would have to give to Kouen and Koumei, two hardasses in matters of empire if he had ever seen them, and that was saying something, considering he fancied himself one (though he suspected he wasn't as skilled in that regard as his brothers).  Kouha sighed, wishing once again that Hakuei could give this report instead, figuring that she would make the Kou Empire’s progress in Magnostadt look infinitely more appealing to Kouen than he ever could.

He read the report in his hands over and over again as he walked into the palace, expecting Kouen to be presiding over a busy court, his eyes piercing him like a hawk does a rabbit’s throat.  He gulped, hoping to catch Kouen in a pleasant mood, but it seemed unlikely, considering the court was completely empty and a bizarre noise dominated the air.  Grabbing onto his metal vessel, he tentatively approached Kouen and was surprised to find him on the floor.

All right, who were the assholes who’d dare try to assassinate his brother?!  He’d find them, and then he’d rip them to shreds, how dare they, those Balbadd fuckers, he’ll destroy them all–wait, why was there a smile on Kouen’s face?

Okay, something was up.  Kouen Ren, his eldest brother, the stoic and powerful conqueror of empires, was laughing.  In fact, he was curled up in a ball and rolling on the floor around his chair.  All in all, it was one of the stranger sights Kouha had ever beheld.  Somehow, by a miracle of the rukh, Kouha could make out a breathless “Alibaba-” between uproarious laughs.

_Ah, so Aladdin’s king candidate has something to do with Kouen’s bizarre mood._   Kouha let go of his metal vessel and knelt beside Kouen to ask, “Okay, what joke did Alibaba tell you to make you laugh this long?”

“Alibaba’s a  _virgin_!” Kouen blurted out before he burst into another round of laughter.

_That’s it?  How rude,_  Kouha thought as he watched Kouen double over for the third time since he arrived in the room,  _the poor young prince is obviously afflicted with something if he hasn’t popped his cherry yet._   He awkwardly stepped away from his brother as he said, “So... when do you want the report?”

Another miracle of the rukh occurred and Kouen managed to compose himself just enough to say, “Just drop it on my throne, I’ll read it later- HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”  Kouha rolled his eyes before dropping the report on Kouen’s throne as requested and getting the hell out of that room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kouha, upon receiving the news that Alibaba is a virgin, begins to think... and Alibaba, too consumed with the problems of Balbadd, doesn't know what to do with the youngest Kou brother. Not at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I don't own Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Shinobu Ohtaka does. If I did own Magi, bizarre things would happen. 
> 
> Also, when it comes to notes, I plan to place the disclaimer here (as well as any trigger warnings that future chapters will need), and then place any information regarding food, economics, etc. in my end notes.

After walking out of the room, Kouha sighed; apparently Aladdin’s king candidate was more hopeless than he had initially thought... to think that a prince could still be a virgin at his age.  That really should have been the end of that trail of thought, but, much to Kouha’s horror, he began to ask himself why.

Was he malformed somewhere his clothes hid?  Actually, come to think of it, Alibaba’s djinn equip hid pretty much nothing, so Kouha could definitely attest that Alibaba wasn’t malformed, scratch that statement.  Did he transform into a gremlin whenever he was around women?  Granted, Kouha had never known such discomfort with women, but he had heard it was a thing that happened to some poor pathetic men.

Kouha found himself genuinely confused: he had encountered freaks from all over the world, failed experiments and low-ranked soldiers, and every single one of them had managed to get laid somehow.  So why was this sterling young king candidate unable to pull himself together and proudly fuck someone?  What horrors had plagued his life, that Alibaba Saluja wouldn’t have gotten his cherry popped by now?!

Somehow his thoughts had driven him far from the palace and close to a bookstore with wares of a clandestine nature; Kouha could tell because this was precisely the kind of place he loved wandering to when he was younger, with thick curtains and a shady little man shushing him as he was directed inside.

As he flitted through the store, once again Alibaba’s image popped up in his mind.  Yeesh, all Kouha knew about the man was that he was Aladdin’s king candidate and a virgin at that, why would that bother him so much... oh, and Alibaba saved his life.  Kouha faced the shelf of books and grinned;  _perhaps the rukh drove me here_ , he thought,  _perhaps this is the way I am meant to thank him for saving my life_. 

“The Delight of Sex... I’ll get this,” Kouha said, flipping through a few pages, noticing some particularly delightful images along with instructions, and promptly placing the book under his arm.  He then pulled out twenty gold coins, turned to the vendor and said, “Will this be enough for the book?”

The shopkeeper grinned and said, “Of course!” before taking the money and shooing Kouha away.   _Well, that was sketchy_ , Kouha thought before leaving the shop.  Now to find Alibaba....

* * *

The words of Hassan and Zaynab could not get out of Alibaba’s head; the people of Balbadd, his people, were cowed by a regime, and a seemingly benevolent one at that, that sought to remove all traces of Balbadd’s identity from the world, that legalized slavery as the unspoken threat placed upon them.  So it was a surprise to Alibaba when he found a piece of paper with the words “Stewards of Zassan” in Balbadd’s native calligraphy roughly shoved into his hands the previous day.  

He had told his household about the paper, and all three of them were more than willing to help him figure out what was going on.  Thanks to Morgiana’s efforts in particular, Alibaba was able to find the location of the calligrapher who created the Stewards of Zassan’s trademark, and he was on his way to see the man when he heard a voice shouting his name.  To his eternal surprise, that voice belonged to Kouha Ren.

Speaking of which, Kouha ran to Alibaba, shoved the book into his arms and said, “Here.  Read it, from what I’ve heard from my brothers you’re in dire need.”

Alibaba’s eyes widened, and his face turned pink before he sputtered, “Excuse me–they  _told_  you?!”

Kouha shrugged and said, “Yeah, Kouen still hasn’t stopped laughing about it.”

Alibaba’s ears turned pink now;  _is everyone seriously going to mock me for_ this _?!  It’s not like I murdered someone, I just haven’t slept with anyone yet_ , he thought before saying, his eyes cast down at the book, “Well, thank you for the thought, at least?”

Kouha grinned and said, perhaps a little too loudly for Alibaba’s tastes, “You’re welcome.  Perhaps once you read this, you’ll be able to stand proudly and fuck like the champion I hear you are!”   _Definitely too loud,_  Alibaba thought, as people began to turn their heads and stare at them.  At that moment, he decided that it was not just a good idea to make it to the calligrapher’s place as soon as possible, it was imperative.  

With that, Alibaba bravely ran away as Kouha continued, “Do not feel ashamed anymore, Ambassador!  I’ll set you on the straight and noble path to...” and he didn’t bother to hear anything after that, thinking to himself that perhaps Aladdin was a bit crazier than he thought, if he willingly called himself friends with Kouha Ren.  Alibaba certainly wasn’t thinking about the scarlet blush on his face at the other prince’s words.

* * *

Hours later, Kouha sauntered into the palace to find Koumei waiting for him, and with the crankiest face at that.  Geez, couldn’t his older brother have any fun?  “Kouha... tell me why you spent twenty gold coins on an adult book for Ambassador Alibaba today.”

Kouha grinned and said, “Well, I gave him the guide because you and Entei refused to help him get laid-”

Koumei raised a single eyebrow and said, moving to his desk and re-organizing papers, “How is that even remotely our responsibility?”

Kouha flopped onto the nearest comfortable chair and said, “Yeesh, there’s obviously something wrong with him if he can’t get laid... you know what, I’ll take him on, he obviously needs friends who can help him get places, and by places I mean between someone’s legs.  The bozos he’s hanging out with now aren’t any help-”

“On second thought... Perhaps we can use his cherry boy status to our advantage,” Koumei suddenly said, his eyes brimming with plans strange and wonderful.  Kouha was rendered speechless seconds later, both deeply impressed and horrified by Koumei’s propensity to turn anything into a political advantage for the Kou Empire.  Koumei must have noticed the dumbstruck look on Kouha’s face, so he continued, “He’s obviously embarrassed about his virginity, and if we’re the ones who help rid Alibaba-dono of his unwanted purity, perhaps by taking him to a brothel or seven, then the young prince will be in a more compliant mood.”

“Wait a second, just a couple minutes ago you were pissed at me for buying a sex book for him, now you want us to be more hands-on in our help?” Kouha said, trying to wrap his head around Koumei’s rapid turnaround.

Koumei slumped on the chair, and right before falling asleep, said, “Well, it seems as though you’ve changed my mind, little brother.  Also, it is  _imperative_  that Alibaba cut off ties with Sindria, so  _any_  strategy put into place, even if it  _is_  a little unconventional, can and  _will_  be used.  What I’m ultimately saying, Kouha, is do your best and have fun with our conquered prince of Balbadd, okay?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kouha, with Koumei's approval, starts to intensify his attempts to get Alibaba laid, and Alibaba... doesn't react nearly the way that Kouha would like. However, it's not like they don't enjoy their time together... much to their surprise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Shinobu Ohtaka does. And it's probably better that this is the case, because if I did own Magi, this series would become both extremely focused on politics and extremely... prurient. XDDDDDD
> 
> However, I do own Ruwayda... and you will see more of her in the future. :D

It had been a week, and Kouha, fully expecting Alibaba to thank him profusely for buying him exactly what he needed to finally pop his cherry, sauntered into Alibaba’s room, noticed him writing something interesting in a language and script entirely foreign to him, and stood directly in front of him.  After a far longer while than it should have been, Kouha recognized that Alibaba was far too engrossed in his writing to notice even him in the room, so he said, “So, about that book....”

Alibaba turned around, shocked to find the other prince in his room, and said, “Hi Kouha?”

Kouha slinked onto the bed and said, “So... did it help you to... perhaps get something done that you haven’t before?”

Alibaba’s eyes lit up;  _a good sign_ , Kouha thought as he heard Alibaba say, “Oh, the book you gave me!  I don’t have it.”

_Never mind... wait... hold on a second, what?!_ “Wait... you don’t have it?!”

Alibaba began scratching the back of his neck and shifted away from Kouha as he said, “Well, I looked over it a couple times, but yeah, it’s not on me right now.” 

Kouha grabbed Alibaba by the front of his tunic and said, “I spent a shit-ton of money to get you that guide, you stupid cherry boy, where is it?!”

Alibaba shrugged and said, holding the paper he was writing on and moving from the bed, “I lent it to Toto, she’s more likely to use it within the month than I am.”

_I can’t believe this, he’s not just resigned to his pathetic state, he’s_ reveling _in it.  This must be remedied immediately_ , Kouha thought, squeezing his metal vessel, pulling Alibaba closer and feeling heavily tempted to slap some fucking sense into him.  “You, you–I spent twenty gold coins on that!  How could you do that-”

To his shock, Alibaba was the first to snap... wait, what did he have to snap about anyway?  Kouha was clearly trying to help him.  “You do realize that I do have a life, right, Prince Kouha?  And you know what, why is everyone bothering me about how I haven’t gotten laid yet, maybe I’m a virgin because I’m too busy trying to save Balbadd and balance fifty billion alliances to worry about my fucking love life!” Alibaba said, removing himself from Kouha’s grip, placing the paper on the desk, crossing his arms, sitting on the chair Kouha was going to take, and pouting.

_Fuck my life, he looks cute_ , Kouha thought; shaking that errant piece of shit idea out of his mind, he said, “Your priorities are fucked up, man.  You do realize how pathetic you look, right?”

Alibaba raised an eyebrow and said, “And telling me how pathetic I am is going to get me to go with you  _how_?”

“Because the higher we regard you, the more likely Balbadd will be given back to you, so you’re going with me to the brothel now.”  With that Kouha grabbed him and dragged him along the street until he found the first brothel...  _Koumei, it looks like you were right.  We did need to get hands-on with Alibaba after all...._

* * *

Well this was not how Alibaba was planning on spending his day.  He was in the middle of writing a letter to the Stewards of Zassan asking them to meet him at the restaurant Zaynab was working at when Kouha had shown up, once again berated him for not getting laid, and then decided to drag him to a brothel to remedy his apparent malady.  That was the reason why Alibaba was currently sitting next to an extremely flirtatious Kouha in an overcrowded brothel and wondering how best to get out before the inevitable happened.

“Hey, would any of you lovely ladies mind giving us a hand here, especially this poor soul next to me, he hasn’t gotten laid once in his life!” Kouha was currently yelling, naturally so the whole brothel could hear him.

Alibaba imagined himself curling into a ball, then being magically shrunk by Aladdin, then being placed in a ball of yarn by Morgiana and smacked around by a particularly playful cat Olba and Toto had brought home yesterday.  Somehow, this scenario proved more pleasant to him than another second of hearing Kouha treat him like a pity case for being a virgin.  Apparently Kouha forgot that Alibaba had a life; he knew Kouha had a life, so why couldn’t the opposite prove true?

While lost in his thoughts, Alibaba felt someone tap him on the shoulder and smile, saying, “Hi there!  How are you doing?”

Alibaba turned to her and blushed; she was bright-eyed, wavy-haired and a little rounder than most of the other women in the brothel, and she was sitting next to him with a giant smile on her face.  The least he could do was talk to her... “Did Kouha put you to this?” Alibaba said, motioning to the now-surrounded-by-at-least-twenty-women Kouha.

“Nope!  How’s your evening been?” she said, moving a little closer to him.

“It could be better, I kind of got dragged here,” Alibaba said, once again motioning to Kouha, who was very clearly distracted...  _thank the rukh for that.  Now he can’t see me._

“Aww, that’s too bad, well at least you have someone to talk to now?” she said, grabbing a plate of oranges for the two of them to share.

“Yeah... do you have a name?” Alibaba said, his face feeling hotter by the second as he grabbed a orange and began to peel it.

“Yes, it’s Ruwayda,” she said, leaning her head on his shoulder and prompting him to really blush at the contact.

The conversation flowed with surprising ease after that, and Alibaba found himself enjoying his night very much as the topic of discussion changed from the oranges they were eating to Kouha and his particular way with women to easily the most enjoyable and fascinating topic of the night... Balbadd’s trade situation.  He let himself listen to her and noted some of the more egregious abuses the Kou Empire had placed on Balbadd’s ships.

Just as Ruwayda was about to reveal to him the names of the people he’d have to contact regarding Balbadd’s ports, the owner of the brothel said, “Well, it’s about that time of night, everyone!  Now let’s make sure everyone has fun tonight, all right?”

At once, Alibaba could see a shift in Ruwayda’s demeanor as she said, “Okay, I can offer-”

“The names?” Alibaba said hopefully, praying that the names would lead him to important enough information to justify spending the night at a brothel with Kouha... and without Aladdin.

“Oh here,” Ruwayda said, writing them down and slipping them into his shirt.  After that, she began to list, “So where were we... oh yes, I can offer handjobs, blowjobs, intercrural sex–”

“Wait, what?” Alibaba couldn’t believe it, he was going to sleep with someone, he, Alibaba Saluja, was actually going to sleep with someone, but she sounded so... disinterested, almost... sad about it, really, that guilt began to seep into his pores.  This happened every single time he went to the brothel with Aladdin, why did he dare to hope for a second that it would end differently tonight–

Ruwayda paused, looked at him interestingly and continued, “Oh, I offer intercourse too, but generally men have to have a kink for pregnant ladies to ask for that and–”

“You’re pregnant?” Alibaba said, his eyes filled with relief; he knew what to do here, at the very least.  

“So you’re one of  _those_ , then?  Well, this will be a nice change, I haven’t had intercourse in months–wait, what are you doing?!” Ruwayda said as she saw Alibaba kneel down in front of her, then fully prostrate himself to her.  “Get up, what’s going on?!”

“I hope you have an easy pregnancy and a safe delivery,” Alibaba said, smiling to himself; he hadn’t thought that the “custom” he had created would be of any use to him beyond that tense afternoon with Kouen, but here... it actually seemed almost better suited here for some reason.

“Thanks, but... aren’t you going to sleep with me?” Ruwayda said, her face flushed from a combination of delight, embarrassment and a hint of frustration.

“Well, uh, do you want me to?” Alibaba asked, before sitting down, beginning to giggle and rock himself on the couch he was sitting on.

“Oh dear... he’s turning into a gremlin, isn’t he?” Kouha suddenly said, wrapping an arm around Alibaba and pulling him close... wait, why was Kouha doing that?!

“Well... I was hoping to get something tonight,” Ruwayda said to Kouha, sighing in disappointment, “Well, maybe you’ll fare better.”   _Wait, why are they talking as though I’m not even in the room?!_  Alibaba thought as he scrambled to get some coins from the bag he managed to drag along with him.

“Here, I’m really sorry about this, I just... like I said, I was dragged here by him, and I-” Alibaba said, placing the coins in Ruwayda’s hands and curling into a ball.   _Perhaps Aladdin will show up and shrink me now_ , Alibaba thought to himself.

Ruwayda knelt down in front of Alibaba, touched his face and said, “I get it, most people don’t expect to lose their virginity to a prostitute-”

Alibaba wondered how his limbs were working because so much blood was rushing to his face.  Burying his face in his hands, he said, “Am I that obvious?”

“Yes,” Kouha deadpanned while trying to wrap his arms around him again.

“It’s cute, really,” Ruwayda said, lifting Alibaba’s face from his hands and pinching his cheeks, “Well, if ever you feel more comfortable of the idea, I’m here, and who knows, if I’m in the right mood, you’ll even get a discount.”  With that she turned and left for the night, coins in hand.

“You are one strange woman,” Kouha said to Ruwayda’s back.  He then turned to Alibaba said said, “You were doing so well, what happened?!”

Alibaba blushed red as he said, rubbing the back of his head, “Well, she was really pretty and we had a really good talk about oranges, Balbadd and you but then she talked about what she was going to offer for the night and I felt like a creep and she was pregnant and reminded me of–”

Kouha placed a finger to Alibaba’s lips and said, “You’re rambling and awkward around women.  And you talked about  _me_?  No wonder you failed with her-”

Alibaba rolled his eyes and said, “Well, I can try to look on the bright side.  At least one of Elizabeth’s relatives isn’t here, I’m extremely awkward around them.”

“Wait, you know  _Elizabeth_?!” Kouha said, his eyes sparkling with a familiar look; Alibaba recognized it as the face he himself had when he saw Amon’s treasure room... wait, what?!

At that moment, Alibaba recognized that he had to tread carefully; he said, trying to measure his words, “Yeah, I know Elizabeth, she kind of scares me–”

Kouha laughed and said, pulling Alibaba closer, “Of course she scares you, she and her relatives are absolute beasts in the bedroom, something a cherry boy like you wouldn’t be able to handle at all-”

_Why does he keep pulling me to him?  And why does it feel so_  nice–Alibaba paused and shook that thought right out of his head before asking, “So you’ve had experience with her before?”

Kouha’s eyes managed to sparkle even more as he began to rhapsodize, “Ah, I remember one night with Elizabeth so fondly, she bent herself for me in ways I’ve never seen a woman bend before, or since to be honest–”

Alibaba felt his left eye begin to twitch as he said, “Can you please shut up before my brain is permanently scarred?”

“Fine, fine, but admit it, you had fun with me tonight,” Kouha said, wrapping his arms around Alibaba and walking out of the brothel.  Overall, Alibaba just wanted to go back to his household and his bed and forget that this night ever happened, but... if he were honest with himself, it was surprisingly pleasant, hanging out with Kouha for a while without having to fight a bunch of dark djinn, or worse, having to deal with Kouha’s older brothers.  And he even got some fantastic information from Ruwayda about the state of Balbadd’s economy, so he couldn’t declare the night a complete waste.  

As they arrived at the place Alibaba was staying, he turned to Kouha and said, “I did, actually.  Thank you, and have a good night.”  With that he opened the door and walked into his bedroom, seeing the incomplete letter on his desk and deciding he could finish it when he woke up.   _Perhaps I’ll pay him back for tonight_ , Alibaba thought before slumping into his bed and falling right asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alibaba confides to his Household about the events of the previous night, and finds that they have words about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not own Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic; Shinobu Ohtaka does. It is definitely for the best that this is the case, because very craven things would happen if I did own it.

Alibaba woke up to see all his household members sitting on the edge of his bed.  “So we heard that Kouha Ren dragged you to a  _brothel_  last night?” Toto said, her voice filled with mock outrage.

“Ah, fuck,” Alibaba said; he silently thanked that rukh that he didn’t get drunk last night so he didn’t have to answer Toto, Olba and Morgiana’s questions while nursing a hangover. 

“So... how was it?” Olba said, his eyes glittering curiously as he plopped himself closer to Alibaba.

“To be honest, it wasn’t half bad,” Alibaba said, blushing as he remembered Ruwayda’s smile and Kouha’s hands pulling him – _wait_ , when did Kouha enter the equation as someone to blush about–

“You sly  _dog_!  Why didn’t you  _tell_  us you were going to get some action last night?” Olba said, jumping on Alibaba and smothering him with hugs.

It took a few minutes of Olba repeatedly tackling Alibaba and Morgiana lifting Olba off the laughing Alibaba until everyone was finally calmed down and Alibaba could bring himself to say, “Eh... I didn’t,” before quickly changing the subject and saying, “What I  _did_  get was some pretty important information regarding Balbadd’s trading situation.  Speaking of which, Olba, you’re by far the best when it comes to naval navigation, so could you please tackle this lead for me and-”

“Before I do that, you’re seriously telling us that you went to a brothel and didn’t get laid?” Olba said, nodding his head slowly and looking gobsmacked.

Alibaba had been hoping they hadn’t heard that.  He sighed and said, “Yes, I am, it’s a more regular occurrence than you think, also Kouha did  _drag_  me to the brothel, it’s not like it was in my  _plans_  to-”

“You don’t need to explain yourself,” Morgiana said, her hand on Alibaba’s shoulder.  He could feel his body slumping in relief, and he gave a shy smile to Morgiana, who smiled back.

“I believe we’ve forgotten the pertinent question.  Is Kouha as much of a bastard as his brothers?” Toto suddenly said, pulling Olba to her side and at last calming him down. 

Alibaba turned to her and said, “Nope, not by a long shot.  Now back to what I wanted to tell you about; the Kou Empire’s placed an embargo on pretty much all the independent trading companies in Balbadd, and essentially placed an ultimatum stating that if the companies refuse to pay the Kou Empire’s tariffs or merge with their trading companies, they’ll be run out of business.”

Toto raised an eyebrow at Alibaba’s change of subject but asked anyway, “What exactly would be wrong with either of those options?”

“The primary problem is that such actions would confine trade in Balbadd to the Kou Empire and its allies.  This eliminates some very important markets for Balbadd’s products, Artemyura, Heliohapt and Sindria in particular,” Alibaba continued, failing to hide his delight at the interest in his household’s eyes, “Sindria, Heliohapt and Artemyura are Balbadd’s second, third and fifth largest trading partners respectively, and to lose their business would cut off Balbadd’s economy by at least a third.”

“So, who’s Balbadd’s largest trading partner?” Olba said, once again sitting on the bed.

“The Reiman Empire.  Part of the reason why the Kou Empire’s seizure of Balbadd’s ships is so egregious is because until recently, they’ve only been our sixth largest trading partner,” Alibaba said, finding that he couldn’t keep the smile off his face despite the somber subject matter.  It had been so long since anyone would actually listen to him talk about such things.

“Wait, Reim’s currently allied with Sindria, wouldn’t that eliminate more of Balbadd’s economy?” Toto said, sitting next to Olba.

“I can actually answer that,” Morgiana said.  All heads turned to her as she continued, “When Mu talked to me about my homeland, he also revealed that he wants Reim to remain neutral as long as it can in the conflict between the Kou Empire and Sindria.”

Alibaba looked to see if Morgiana would continue, then, realizing she would not, said, “Additionally, Balbadd’s Reim’s second largest trading partner; if anything the Kou Empire can’t afford to drive Reim to ally completely with Sindria by halting trade between Reim and Balbadd.  Also, sorry to change the subject, but what time is it?”

“It’s half past noon, Alibaba-san.  Anyway, in a few minutes I was going to talk with Mu-san more about our homeland.  I can also ensure that Balbadd maintains its trading routes with Reim, if you need me to do so,” Morgiana said.

“That would be great, Mor-san, thank you!” Alibaba said, giving her a hug before she left the room.

“And I’ll go to the port now to talk with the companies you’re telling us about,” Olba said.  He looked at the door, then at Alibaba and asked, “Could you please get me the names of who I need to talk to?”

“Oh!  Here they are,” Alibaba said, pulling the paper Ruwayda gave him out of his tunic and prompting both Olba and Toto to raise their eyebrows.

“Are you  _sure_  you didn’t get any action last night?” Olba said, grabbing the paper from Alibaba’s hand and once again nodding at him.

“ _Of course I’m sure!_ ” Alibaba yelled, burying his face in his blankets and attempting to hide in them.

“We don’t need what happened on the ship to happen again, Olba,” Toto said, glaring at Olba and prompting him to pout at her after placing the paper in his pocket.  “Anyway, Toto needs to talk with him after you leave.”  She then kissed Olba on the cheek, prompting him to blush as he walked to the door.

Alibaba peeked out from under the blankets to see Olba standing by the door, arms extended, and it took him a few moments to recognize what Olba wanted before getting out of the bed and giving him a hug as well.

He then turned to Toto and asked, “Hey, what do you need to talk to me about?”

“Be careful around Kouha Ren,” Toto said, watching Olba leave the room.

“Huh?”

Toto sighed.  She then sat down on the bed, beckoned Alibaba to sit next to her and said, “Sure, you told Toto that he’s not as much of a bastard as his brothers, but Kouha is still a prince of the Kou Empire, and he still dragged you to a brothel last night without your permission.  Toto doesn’t know what Kouha has planned for you, but Toto isn’t particularly fond of him cornering you while you’re alone and-”

Alibaba smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Toto.  Kouha didn’t do anything untoward to me.  I will admit, he did tell me some stories which scarred my brain, but-”

“This isn’t the gladiatorial field, Alibaba.  The fights there were far more honest and honorable.  The battles we will be facing are not fought with swords but with words, scrolls and meetings like the one you and Kouha had last night.  Toto knows you’ll acquit yourself well, you’ve always been better with words than you realize, but Toto fears that the intentions of the Kou Empire are far more sinister than even you recognize,” Toto said, wrapping an arm around Alibaba and letting him lean his head on her shoulder.

After a long silence, Alibaba said, “Of course I’m scared.  I barely recognize Balbadd anymore.  There are slaves here now, and most of my people are too cowed by the Kou Empire to protest against it.  I need to do something, but I didn’t know where to begin until last night, so I’m grateful as hell to Kouha right now, even if he never recognizes why.”

“What about that Stewards of Zassan lead, there was a start you got without Kouha’s influence,” Toto replied, crossing her arms and staring directly at Alibaba.

“I’m holding off on that one for a reason,” Alibaba said, moving to get up.

“Can you tell Toto?” Toto said, pulling Alibaba down to sit with her.

Alibaba sighed, turned to her and said, “Fine.  The name is what makes me hesitant to support them.  You know how they’re called the Stewards of Zassan?”

“Yes, what’s wrong with the name?”

“Zassan is Zaynab and Hassan’s son.  It’s not a common name, and neither Zaynab nor Hassan seems particularly inclined to revolution right now, for their own reasons.  So something tells me that this revolutionary group is co-opting their child’s name without their consent, and if they’re ever found out, I’m afraid Hassan, Zaynab and Zassan will become casualties of a war they wanted no part of,” Alibaba said, placing his face in his hands and beginning to shake.  “I’ve already failed them too fucking much, I don’t need them to suffer any more because of me.”

Toto tapped Alibaba on the shoulder, and, when he turned to her, she gave him a fierce, tight and much-needed hug.  “Shh, remember what good you’ve done, Alibaba,” she whispered, and for a moment at least, some worry slipped away.  An indeterminate amount of time later, Alibaba felt himself slip back onto the bed and his eyes close.  A couple minutes after that, Toto returned to the room, a barely-familiar book in hand.

“So this is the book Kouha gave you?” Toto asked, laughing to herself.  “Toto had wondered how you procured this.”

“Well, I was thinking of other things-” Alibaba said, grabbing it from her hands and skimming it once more.  “Also, how is this going to help?”

“Maybe a distraction will make you feel better,” Toto said, watching Alibaba flip through a few pages.

Alibaba noticed that there were some pages that were already dog-eared, and he turned to them, noticed exactly what was happening on each page, looked at Toto, and blushed profusely.  He said, once again cocooned in his blankets, “Uh, Toto?  What about-”

Toto’s eyes widened as she realized the full implication of her words.  She then said, “NOT WITH TOTO!”

“I wasn’t going to ask,” Alibaba said, hoping the awkwardness that had so quickly permeated the room would dissipate as quickly.  A couple minutes later, he asked, a crimson blush coloring his face as he looked at the back cover, “So... how are you enjoying it?”

Toto blushed and said, grabbing the book from him and ruffling her hand through Alibaba’s hair, “Very much, Alibaba.  Very much.”  She then walked out of the room, and Alibaba thought to himself,  _Did Kouha really pay twenty gold coins for that book?  The price on the back cover clearly said it cost ten... shit, he drastically overpaid for it.  I need to make this right._   With that, Alibaba got up, put on his best clothes, and went out to make a deal with a shady book-seller.


End file.
